Varnish and process of making the same.



- f "e;;.f -N TED STATES PATENTOFFICE HER AN ROSENBERGHOE NEW roan, N.-Y., ASSIGNOR To STANDARD VARNISI-I wonxs, o ELM PARK, PORT RICHMOND, STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK, a con.-

Rehearing roaA Io -oE EW YORK.

V VABNISH AND PROCESS or MAKING THE SAME.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HERMAN RosE B Ro, a citizen of the United States, residing at [New York, in'the county of Richmond and 'State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Varnishes and Processes of Making the Same, of which the following is aspeci'fication.

"This invention relates to varnishes and processes of making the same, and it com prises a varnish, more especially a ragging varnish, adapted toproduce o-n drying a thin but substantialprotective and decorative film or coating and a wax-like or semigloss finish on a surfaceto which the var;

nlsh is applied, said varnish comprising a gum and oil base, specially treated as by av cooking, heating or oxidizing treatment prolonged beyond that' usual in making ordinary varnishes, and a miscible thinning solvent, theviscosity, in the case of a ragging varnish being such as to render the varnish peculiarly. suited to ragging in or application with a cloth; and it also comprises the process of making such a ,varnish' in which a suitable varnish base, usually a .gum and oilmixture, is subjected to a prolonged heating treatment which may be termed an overcooking or 'superoxidation, such treatment usually being in the presence of facilitating agents such as metallic oxids or salts, and the like, and the base sotreated is then thinned down with a suitable-miscible thinning solvent, or with a mixture of such solvents, to produce a homogeneous varnish of the desired viscosity; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

. For many purposes it is desirable to provide wood and other surfaces with a varnish coating which, while affording. the protection obtainable by the pro-per. application of good quality varnish, shall nevertheless-lack the high lusterand gloss of the usual var-' nish coat. This is particularly true in the case of furniture, floors, etc., where a somewhat dull or wax-like finish is often preferred to a shiny or high gloss surface. In order to obtain-this wax-like or semi-gloss finish, several expedients have hitherto been resorted" to. Sometimes, after the usual'varnish coating has been applied, the surface is rubbed down with a mixture of an oil and afinely powdered abrasive, the original brilliant gloss of the varnish-coat being thus Specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 20, 1913, I Application fi1ed November 4, 1912. Serial No. 729,19}

softened and dulled to'a greater or less extent. Such a procedure obviously involves considerable labor and it skill. In other. instances it has been attempted to secure thedesired result by the application to a varnished or unvarnished surface of liquid compositions containing waxes or wax-like bodies which after drying down would give coatings of less bril-' liant luster than regular varnishes. Such coatings are unsatisfactory, however, chiefly since waxes do not produce permanent and durable protective coatings. T-heyare too soft and, they lack the toughness and resistant properties of good varnish gums and resins properly combined with oils in a true varnish base.

An object of the present invention is to, avoid the above mentioned difliculties and objections and to produce a varnish which, after application to a surface, will dry d'own to give, a true varnish coating possessing body, permanence and durability, but hav ing a wax-like or semi-gloss luster, as distinguished from the brilliant gloss finish obtained with varnish heretofore known.

Another object of the invention isto pro vide a varnish of the character just described which is particularly adapted for ragging purposes, that is, for application with a cloth or similar material.

In the ordinary ways of finishing wood and the like wit-h a varnish coat,'the practice is to apply varnish compositions with a brush. This involves a relatively thick or viscous composition; oneyvith adhesiveness and cohesiveness suflicient to produce at least a film coat against the pressure of the brush fibers. Much practice is necessary in making a smooth, uniform coating by brushing' on varnish; and the operation is one which is practically beyond, the skill of the average householder or amateur, at least so far as concerns the production of high-grade varnished surfaces, free of brush marks,

streaks, striae, etc, In the practice of the present invention it is possible to produce a composition which can'be applied byanybody with the-production of a high grade coating without the exercise of special skill;

;a coating of smoo-th, hard-uniforrn surface having a semi-gloss or wax-like finish. To

requires special do this, it is desirable to have a composi- ,tion which can be applied otherwise than by strument) at a temperature of about 70 dea brush since the use of a brush necessitates 1 certain skill; Application with a cloth though permitting the formation of uni-I -form, streakless films without much skill 5 is not feasible with ordinary varnishes since these gum up the cloth and pile up in, front ofit while leaving behind airough irregu lar surface, usually full of lint and fiber; and furthermore, ordinary varnishes do not yield thejtype' of soft luster finish'here con- 'temp'lated'.-

I have discovered that by making a varnish ofa viscosity such that it willshow in the neighborhood ofltt) when tested in a Tag liabue viscosim'eter (or equivalent ingrees Fahrenheihit is thin enough to permit free'application with a rag; entering and leaving the cloth readily and 'at the same time, allowing a substantial film to form on the treated surface under the rag. It' is -ne.cessary in practice however to resort tocertain expedients in making up such a varnish if it is to leave the desired type of coating at such a viscosity;- to leave a thin, film of Varnish under the rag giving on drying a'substantial filmlike coating with a soft luster. Ordinary brush varnishes if di-jlutedor thinned down to about 140 vis cositywill usually carry about 4 to .5 pounds ofbase or basis"(varnish gum and drying oil) per gallon, the rest being solvent or.

thinner; say .per cenhsbasegand (SO-per cent. thinner. Even at this dihition,-ordi'- nary varnishes give a comparatively high gloss finish. According'to the present invention, a composition is made up with specially treated varnish gums and oils; varnish gums and oils which have been heavily 40 -oxidizedor heated for a relatively long time. With such materials, a ragging varnish can be'm'ade of the proper viscosity carrying only about 2'to 3 pounds, or' even'less;

of varnish base per gallon but" entering and leaving a rag freely, not piling up orlinting,

streakless coating film and applicablelwithout greatskilL- This film upon drying will have the desirable wax-like or semi-gloss finish. v In practising the present process, a suitable' varnish base is heated or cooked under regulated conditions for a relatively long ,period of time; and thisis best done in the presence of a suitable facilitating agent such as a metallic oxid or salt of the proper character. It may however be done by simple prolonged heating. 'This cooking treatment is earried beyond the point at which the cooking of a. varnish base terminates in the usual methods of making varnish. For ordinary -varnish, the base thus produced ,woul'dbe considered overcooked and practi cally valueless, As to the exact nature "of the changes effected in the varnish base by ni .h whi h after application we, surface and but leaving substantial, hard; uniform,

such over-cooking, nothing verydefinite can J be said, since the reactionsi-nvolved aremore or less complex and little understood. ()xidation occurs to a greater or less extent; and 1 this prolonged heatingmay-beconveniently termed a rolonged ox dation or super'oxida- V tion of t 'e varnish base, although these. terms are' not to be understoodtoo techni-. cally; Polymerization also occurs during. this treatment. At all events, the modified base thus obtained, when dissolved iii-an] appropriate thinning solvent,'gi'ves ;a.fY8,1;.

drying produces a true varnish film orv coat 1 v in which, however, has the desired -dullg finish luster. By thinning down to within. t v the range of viscosities hereinbeforemen- '1 t-ioned, ragging varnishes maybe roduced which are also characterised by their ability {91 give a wax-like-finish'to wood and the ire. 1 p A notable characteristic of the varnish base produced b'yjthe presentprocess is its ability to take up larger quantities of thinners than do ordinary varnish bases in producing compositions of the" same viscosity. This'is of great importance, particularly in connection with ragging varnishes which I regard as the mostimportantjembodiments of the present invention: For example, inmakingfafn ordinary varnishpounds of. f kauriv would be cooked-orheated for about" oneto: two'hours'with 20 gallons of linseed] oil. This amount of base wouldrequire 40- to 45 gallons of turpentine to produce-avarnish of the viscosity of 'HO" or a-viscosity such as could be applied with Iarag. But by.ta'king the same amount ofb'ase and heatingfor 10 to 12 hours at approximately-500 F.', the viscosity is so increased that it will J take. 100 to gallons of turpentine to reduce it to the desired viscosity. A varnish] vso produced however, unlik'e the first stated composition'with a basis cookedin the ordinary way, will dry with a wax-l'ike appear- 1 ance and-it is much betteriadapted for 'ap- I .plication'with a rag. j"Th time' of heating may be materially reduced by heating in, the presence of; a suitable. metallic oxidors. salt. Varnishes' produced in this way'work extremely well under them or cloth without gumming up-o'r, being 0t erwise troublesome. At the same time the; coating produced has the requisite and, durability, as well as the desirable wax-like finish;

The base of the present varnish compositions should include ahard varnish gum or resin and a fixedoil. The resin is best a. hard fossil or semi-fossil resin or gum'shchas kauri, Manila copal, East Indian copal, Brazilian-copal, dammar, etc. Other resins, such as Pontianak resin, and' even rosin may be used. The .oil employed may be a fixed drying or'semi-drying ml of vegetable oil, corn oil, Chinese wood or tung oil, soya But Whatever this third component or viscosity adjusting body may be, itshould be one which will be readily miscible with the solution of the particular resin or gum in the particular fixed oil used, since, for the present purposes, the composition as a whole must be homogeneous. In producing a typical varnish under the present invention, for instance, 100 pounds of Manila gum, 15 gallons of linseed oil and 5 gallons of soya bean oil may be combined according to the usual practice and then 15 per cent. of oxid of calcium (good fat quicklime) added. After the addition the heating may be continued for 5 to 7 hours. This treatment will give a base requiringthe additipn of 110 to125 gallons of turpentine to produce'a varnish with a viscosity of 140. This varnish will give the desired wax-like finish and is also particularly adapted for ragging in. In a typical formula, the'varnish base comprises pounds of kauri, 50 pounds of rosin, combined with 15 gallons of Wood oil and 5 gallons perilla oil. To this base may be added 5 poundsof lime, 3 pounds of manganese dioxid and 1 pound of oxid of lead. The mixture should then-be cooked for four or five hours at. temperatures-around 480 to be thinned down wit 120 gallons of turpentine. In another example, the base coml prises'100 pounds of Pontianak combined with 15 gallons of linseed oil and 5 gallons of Wood oil. ployed 3 pounds of oxid of lead, 3 pounds of 02nd of calcium and. 1 pound, of oxid of manganese, the mixture being cooked from five to six hours at about 520 F. About 110 gallons of turpentineare required to thin the base down to the proper viscosity for use as a ragging varnish. In a fourth specific example, 100 pounds of'kauri are combined .with 10 gallons of linseed oil to give a varnish base. after which is added '5 pounds of oxid oflead. The mixture is cooked for seven or eight hours at' about 500 F. A proper ragging viscosity is ob tained by thinnmg the resulting product down with 125 gallons of turpentine. W'hile metallic oxids have been specified in the above As facilitating agents are em' the aid of. a cloth and will be found to enter and coat the wood pores and to produce a smooth, hard varnish coating of substantial thickness on'the Wood free of streaks and striations. The composition does not gum up cloth but enters the cloth pores well andis as readily given up to the surface under treatment. It may be rubbed in such surface with some degree of force without sticking or producing a streaky surface.

In finishing wood surfaces by appl ing a homogeneous fluent composition of t e described type with a cloth, a much better result is obtained, as regards smoothness and lusterof the coating, the production of a thin but substantial coating and thefilling of the pores than by the use of the regular varnish coatings brushed on. There can be, of course, no brush marks. And in one operation results can be attained which cannot be produced by any method of treatment with non-homogeneous, emulsion-like compositions, such as French polishes. All the pores are entered and filled instead of being merely to a large extent bridged over as w1th thick brushed-on varnishes, and a good finish is given in'one operation. In preliminarily combining the gums and oils in the examples given above it is best to follow the usual procedure. The gums are first melted alone andjthen run to render them soluble in the oils, the oils being then added to give the true varnish base. There is some loss by elimination of volatile matters during the running of the gums and this may amount to 10 per cent. in a typical example. The proportion of solvent added, after modification of the base by the heat treatment to produce a ragging varnish, varies somewhat, as shown in the examples, according to the character of the treated base. Roughly speaking, however, it may be statedthat to obtain a final viscosity of 140 or thereabout, the weight of turpentine necessary is mate.

.for my new ragging varnish is an arbitrary figure which is determined under standard conditions and whose numerical value depends ntirely uponthe particular method.

employed for determining viscosity. Instruments other than the Tagliabue give other readings; and the readings also vary with the temperature of observation. For

convenienceflhe viscosity desired in my ragging varnish may be designated as a viscosity approximatelyequivalent to a reading of 140 Tagliabue at 70 degrees test.

What I claim is v 1. The process of making varnish compositions which comprises preparing a suit able varnish base and subjecting said base to a prolonged heat treatment, said heat treatment being continued until a dry film of the base deposited from a suit-able solution thereof shows a wax-like or semi-gloss finish, J 2. The process of making varnish compositions which comprises preparing a suit-able varnish base and subjecting said base to prolonged heat treatment in the presence of a.

facilitating agent, said heat treatment being continued until a dry film of thebase deposited from a suitable solution thereof shows a wax-like or semi-gloss finish.

3. The process of making varnish compositions which comprises preparing a suitable varnish base and subjecting said base to prolonged heat treatment in the presence ofa metallic oxid, .said heat treatment being continued until a dry film of the base deposited from a suitable solution thereof shows a w'a-x -like or semi-gloss finish.

4. The process of making varnish compositions which comprises preparing a suit-' 'able' varnish base, subjecting said base to a prolonged heat treatment, said heat treatment being continued until a dry film of the base deposited from a suitable solution thereof shows a wax-like or semi-gloss finish, and dissolving the treated base in sufficient thinning solvent to produce a ragging varnish having a viscosity of about, 10 Tagliabue under standard conditions.

5. The process of making varnish compositions w'hich comprises preparing a suitable varnish base, subjecting said baseto a prolonged heat treatment, said heat treatment being continued until a dry film of the base deposited from, a" suitable solution thereof shows a wax-like or semi-gloss finish, and dissolving the treated base in a suitable quantity of a hydrocarbon solvent.

' 6. The process ofmaking varnish compositions which comprises preparing a varnish base by suitably combining a varnish ,gum

,and'a fiXed oil, heating the base thus'prepared until, a dry-film of the'basedeposited from a suitable solution thereof shows a wax-like or semi-gloss finish, and dissolving the basethus modified in a suitable solvent.

7. The process of making varnish composit-ions which comprises preparing a varnish base by suitably combining a .varnish gum and a fixed oil, heating the base thus prepared for a period of not less than about four hours at temperatures around 500 F., and dissolving the treated base in a suitable "arnish solvent.

8. The process of making varnish compositions which comprises preparing a varnish base by suitably combining a varnish gum and a fixed oil, heating the base thus prepared for a period of not less than about four hours at temperatures around 500 F., and adding a thinning solvent to obtain a ragging varnish having a viscosity of approximately 140 Tagliabue under standard conditions.

9. The process of making varnish compositions which comprises preparing a varnish base by suitably combining a varnish gum and a fixed oil, heating the base thus prepared for a period of not less than about four hours at temperatures around 500 F., and adding a thinning solvent to obtain a ragging varnish having a viscosity of apconstituting the varnish base.

10. As a new article of manufacture, a varnish consisting of a base of gum and oil dissolved in a suitable thinner, said varnish being free of waxlike bodies and capable of producing a wax-like finish upon wood or other surfaces by a ragging application.

11. As anew article of manufacture, a varnish conslstmg of a true varnish base dissolved in a suitable varnish solvent and free of wax-like bodies and capable of producing a wax-like finish upon 7 wood or other surfaces by a ragging application.

12. As a new article of manufacture, a ragging varnish comprisinga true varnish base dissolved in a suitable varnish solvent and having a viscosity of about 140 Tagliabue under standard conditions, said varnish being capable of producing a wax-like finish upon wood or other surfaces.

"13. As a new article of manufacture, a

ragging varnish comprising a true varnish base dissolved in a suitable varnish solvent and having a viscosity of about 140 Tagliabue under standard conditions, the percentage of varnish base present being approximately 25 per cent. of the complete varnish, and said varnish being capable of producing a wax-like finish upon wood or other surfaces.

1%. As a new article of manufacture, a

ragging varnish consisting of a true varnish wax-like bodies and having a viscosity adapting it to application with a cloth, said varnish being capable'of producing a waxlike finishwipon wood or other surfaces.

10 ard con itions, and the proportion of base Letters Patent No. 1,062,419.

' in the Patent Oflice.

Ion in [sun] Correct present being about 25 per cent. of the complete varnish.

In testimony whereof, I afiixmy signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERMAN ROSENBERG.

Witnesses MAX WOLF,

ARTHUR L. PORTER.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,062,419, granted May 20, 1913,- upon the application of Herman Rosenberg, of New York N. Y., for an improvement in varnishes and Processes of Making the Same, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correct-ion as follows: Page 4, line 49, numeral and degree mark, for 10 read 140; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case B. T. FRAZIER,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

wax-like bodies and having a viscosity adapting it to application with a cloth, said varnish being capable'of producing a waxlike finishwipon wood or other surfaces.

10 ard con itions, and the proportion of base Letters Patent No. 1,062,419.

' in the Patent Oflice.

Ion in [sun] Correct present being about 25 per cent. of the complete varnish.

In testimony whereof, I afiixmy signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERMAN ROSENBERG.

Witnesses MAX WOLF,

ARTHUR L. PORTER.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,062,419, granted May 20, 1913,- upon the application of Herman Rosenberg, of New York N. Y., for an improvement in varnishes and Processes of Making the Same, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correct-ion as follows: Page 4, line 49, numeral and degree mark, for 10 read 140; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case B. T. FRAZIER,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

